Upsetting the Balance
by alyssialui
Summary: The Hundred Year War is over and peace now reigns as the Avatar and his friends try to unify the four nations. But what happens when one spirit is not happy with the world in balance? What if that spirit wants the chaos to begin again? Some Ty Zula in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This fic is a cooperative effort of the members of the AtLAFC forum. This chapter was brought you by: **The Pyromancer**_

_Summary: The Hundred Year War is over and peace now reigns on the Earth as the Avatar and his friends try to unify the four nations. But what happens when one spirit is not happy with the world in balance? What if that spirit wants the chaos to begin again?_

_Disclaimer: We do not own AtLA._

* * *

"You want me to do what?"

"We need you to seek out our champion. Convince her to help us."

"She's not 'our champion', as far as I've heard she's just a psycho. We should put our trust in someone else, like the Avatar, Sokka or their friends. I've heard that the new Fire Lord is also a trustworthy person."

"Iname has already gotten to them first, subverted our word. They're in his grasp and he blocks all of our attempts at communication. The augury readings say that the champion is our hope, our last possible link to the physical world. If you can't convince her then all is lost."

"I will try then."

* * *

In a small coastal town on the very edge of Earth Kingdom territory, one of the closest port towns to the Fire Nation, the day was blotted out by clouds. It threatened rain at any moment, and people were moving about the streets as fast as they could to finish up their day's chores and sit down for a nice hot meal whenever the sky decided to open up and pour down. At one of the many food stands scattered down the main boulevard sat a young woman. Her black hair was chopped off to her shoulders, slightly erratically, and had happened when, in a fit of annoyance at the long hair and what it had symbolized to her once, she had chopped it all off with a knife. A smiling old innkeeper had offered to trim it for free so that it didn't look so bad, but the young woman had just snarled her refusal and left the inn that night, bag in hand. Now she sat at the food stand, which boasted a small kitchen area behind a counter and stools pulled up to the counter. The whole thing was open to the street, no front wall or door, just some cloth hanging down advertising the stand. On a wall was a sign listing the food and the prices. The young woman sat on one of the stools, a warm plate of food in front of her. Lying on the plate was some type of roll made from cabbage that had been wrapped around a steaming pile of meat. It smelled funky to the woman and she took a trepidatious bite. The stand owner had warned her to wait for it to cool down first so that she didn't burn herself, but something being too hot had never been, and never would be a problem for her. She found she actually enjoyed the cabbage wrap, having been unimpressed with basically every other meal she'd had in the past several years. She took a second bite and savored the seasoning of the meat. Her enjoyment of her food was interrupted by a series of shouts from down the street, and they were getting louder.

"Run!" yelled a man running down the street past the food stand. "The platypusbear has gotten loose!"

Several other people ran tripping and screaming past the stand, and the owner looked outside, saw something and ran to hide at the back of the stand. The young woman just ignored it all and continued to eat her food, done with the first of the wraps and went to the second. A roar sounded right outside the stand and one of the walls of the stand exploded inward as a powerful force swiped at it. The young woman had sensed the attack coming moments before it had hit, and had pushed away from the stand, toppling her stool and rolling backwards over her shoulder onto the street. She ended up in a crouching position and saw a large platypusbear standing over the stand, roaring at the destruction it had caused. The young woman scowled at the beast. In her movements away from the stand, her food had been covered in dust from the road. She threw it at the platypusbear in disgust, drawing its attention.

"Beast," she snarled, settling into a fighting stance. "How dare you interrupt my meal. You will pay for that."

The platypusbear roared once more in anger and charged on all fours at the young woman. With a smirk she dodged with minimal movements to the left towards the stand. When the platypusbear had run past her, and was trying to correct its path to attack her, she lashed out with a quick palm strike to its side. The platypusbear fell down onto the road with a pained yell. It quickly lashed out with a poisoned paw but the young woman leapt over the attack and landed down with an axe kick to the platypusbear. It tried to move, to do what the young woman didn't know or care, but she lashed out with a powerful side kick and the platypusbear collapsed fully, unable to move due to the pain.

The rain finally decided to arrive, pouring down on the scene as onlookers peeked out from their hiding places in the surrounding buildings and alleyways. A pair of animal catchers huffed and puffed down the street, nets in hand as they finally caught up to the platypusbear. The young woman just silently turned around, bent down and fished her satchel out of the rubble of the stand wall and walked away down the street. As the animal catchers looked on stunned at the knocked down platypusbear, one noticed that sections of the bear's fur were singed from having run into a fire, or having been hit by one.

* * *

The young woman finally found an inn that seemed suitable enough for her to spend her night in. The room was small and just had a pile of blankets and a pillow for her to sleep on, but at least it offered the bonus of no questions asked. If an inn or shopkeeper asked her questions like her name, where she was from or anything possibly personal that didn't have to do with completing her business and getting on with her life, than she'd usually just leave immediately. This had occasionally led to her sleeping on the ground at night or going hungry, but at least it was better than dealing with people actually wanting to talk. She dropped her bag to the ground and saw that a fresh robe had been hung out on a hook for her, a towel accompanying it. Stripping off her wet clothes she flung them into a corner to deal with at a later moment. She used the towel to dry her hair and body, and then donned the warm robe. Like how she didn't have to worry about burning herself, she didn't worry about getting too cold, but there was something to be said for comfortable clothes. The luxuries of life were not to be underestimated if available. A lesson she had learned the hard way.

"How are you feeling?" asked a familiar voice from behind the young woman. She turned around and saw a beautiful woman with dark brown hair that fell slightly below her shoulders. She was wearing a simple purple robe in the style found commonly in the earth nation. She wasn't exactly as the young woman remembered her, but older, aged gracefully but aged none the less.

"Mother?" asked the young woman. "Is that really you?"

"Yes Azula, it's me," replied the older woman. "I've been wanting to talk to you for many, many years. Imagine my surprise when I witness a strong young woman taking out a platypusbear, with a very restrained but powerful display of firebending. How you concentrated the attacks into single points was impressive. You've grown beyond how I could ever imagine."

"Mother…." said Azula simply, almost wistfully.

Azula's mother started to walk towards her, hands outstretched to hug her daughter. "Azula, I've so missed you. There's so much that we need to talk about. I urgently need your help with something."

"Meh, it'll have to wait," said Azula, shrugging and suddenly looked bored. As fast as a bolt of lightning, Azula struck, shooting a blast of fire at her mother. The older woman was engulfed into a ball of fire that continued to swirl around its victim even after Azula stopped feeding it. She smirked at the ball of fire. "Honestly, you're either yet another apparition, an imposter with a large amount of information or my actual mother. Either way, that was very, very satisfying. I'm hoping you actually have a physical body and carbonize and crumble into ash. It'll be a very satisfying release for having to hold back earlier instead of attracting attention to myself."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you then," said a melodious voice from the fire. It was extinguished in a gust of wind and instead of Azula's mother stood a rather stunning young woman with snow white hair falling down her back. She was wearing an opulent dark blue robe and a rather disapproving frown on her face. "I lost my physical body to another mad fire bender's scheme, so you've lost out on your chance."

"That's rather a shame. You knew so much about my mother that I hoped you were actually her. Impressive really, it makes me want to burn you even more."

"Enough with your madness!" commanded the white haired woman, her voice booming through the small room but not attracting any outside attention. "I am here on serious and urgent business and I need your help."

"Not interested," replied Azula. She blew out a nearby candle, the only source of illumination in the room, plunging it into darkness. The white haired woman started to glow, lighting up the room instead of the candle. Azula just smirked once more and crawled between the blankets, trying to fall asleep.

"I am Yue, the spirit of the moon," said the white haired woman, ignoring Azula's indifference. "I come with a message of danger from the spirit world."

"And why should I care?" asked Azula, not even turning over to face Yue.

"Because," sighed Yue, "if you assist me, I have been granted the approval and ability to answer any question you have, about anything. Past, present or future, as long as it's about something that has or will exist in this world, I can, and will answer it with the utmost accuracy. Is this an acceptable payment for your cooperation?"

"I'll sleep on it," replied Azula. Yue just gave a sigh.

"Then I will await your answer in the morning," she said simply. Her light dimmed and then disappeared, leaving Azula once again alone in her room.

Under the dual covers of her blankets and the darkness, Azula gave a feral smile.

"Finally…" she muttered, falling asleep to pleasant dreams of pushing her father Ozai down an infinite flight of stairs. Twice.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I hope you enjoy our first chapter. We now introduce another two characters to our story. This chapter was brought you by: **Albedineity.**_

_Disclaimer: We do not own AtLA._

* * *

Azula could remember every time someone cared enough to visit her while she was imprisoned. It wasn't the oh-so-mighty Fire Lord Zuzu. No one apart from one person bothered.

Each time, it was Ty Lee.

She kept count and scratched it into the floor with already broken fingernails.

_IIIII I_

It stood out, though it was barely noticeable. Dried blood covered the tally, each month renewed.

Every time, she rambled on about the past and regrets. Azula wasn't sure what to make of it, but it was a good distraction from the constant Noise in her head. The Noise insisted on the wrong, it said that it will end. Lies.

Her voice was soft, pleading. She said that she was sorry, that it wasn't Azula's fault. She still told her how she was the beautiful, powerful princess. Ty Lee, of course, didn't know the detail of her descent into insanity. She didn't know about how her betrayal affected her.

* * *

"And what is a young lady like you doing here?" the lanky man looked down at her with pity. She liked to pretend it wasn't condescension in people's eyes.

Ty Lee forced a grin and fixed her sleeves of unnatural, green colour. She dismissed her discomfort - she had to, if she ever wanted to find her.

"Just wandering around this place. I don't suppose you would know the way to the closest pub or inn?"

The man mentally assessed her, before his eyes settled on her chest. "Sure thing, lady. Follow me." His footsteps echoed in the silent alley, soon to be followed by Ty Lee's. After few minutes, the man slowed down and turned his head, "How old are you, anyway? Don't wanna feel too guilty."

"18."

He nodded, before gesturing to the inn to his right. Ty Lee gave a half-hearted smile and walked towards the 'The Golden Bear' inn.

It wasn't a huge building; in fact, the opposite. The grey bricks formed an unimposing cube. As she reached for the handle, she could feel cobwebs gathering under her hands. The inn-keeper wasn't too impressive either. Hanging on his a thin thread around his neck was a plaque labelled 'Manik'. Flickering through yellowed pages of a leather-bound book, he could have been as good as asleep. Not that Ty Lee could blame him, 06:00 wasn't a usual hour for daily activities.

Ty Lee cleared her throat, "Uh, hello! Could I ask if y-" Manik raised his finger and pointed to the book in his hands. Ty Lee fell silent. She shuffled on her feet, before noticing an emerald couch near a fireplace. Strangely, it looked new to contrast the surroundings. She settled onto the couch and started staring at the peeling wallpaper. It would be a while until he stopped doing whatever it was.

As the heat brushed against her skin, she relaxed. The wallpaper was grey, peeled in some places. Fitting with her mood. Months of searching for Azula were fruitless, but the local gossip was quick-spread and she was sure that it was her this time. Who else would fight a beast with such ease and indifference? It could be someone else. It also could be Azula. She hoped it was the second option.

Finally, a male voice reached her hearing, "What were you saying?"

Quickly, Ty Lee stood up and faced Manik, "I'm searching for a... friend. Do you think you've seen her? She has dark hair, probably messy, golden eyes and she's very, well, demanding."

He furrowed his brows for a while, but chose to stay silent.

"Did she pay you?" Ty Lee asked with a sigh.

Silence.

She reached for her pocket hesitantly, and took out a pouch full of coins. She spilled roughly more of it on the counter.

"Please?" Manik leaned forward a smirk forming on his lips, but otherwise impassive. With a frown, she emptied half of the pouch.

"Go up two floors and find a room 14. That don't mean you can stay there though."

Thanked politely, Ty Lee sped up to floor 2.

* * *

Aang groaned and writhed in sleep.

The darkness hurled at him, threatening to swallow him at any moment, its fangs smiling morbidly at him. Fire leaked from its mouth. The tenebrous shadows were chased away by sudden light, blinding him.

_Aang._

The calm, yet stern face of Avatar Kyoshi materialized before him, followed by her body in the usual combat clothing. Her lips didn't part, but the words came from her direction. Aang stumbled towards the voice.

_The world is in danger again. You have to save it, the stakes are colossal._

Her eyes narrowed, piercing an arrow through Aang's mind.

_You will know what to do when you wake up._

Aang didn't have time to think about how unfamiliar the words sounded, how unlike the warrior Avatar they were. A sharp jolt, and he was staring at the ceiling with the words "The world is in danger" imprinted on his brain.

* * *

A creak accompanied the opening of the doors. Ty Lee took a deep breath, and gingerly pushed them open, revealing a person, shrouded by sulfur grey aura, hunched over a few scrolls scattered on the wooden floor.

It was unmistakably Azula. Her hair, though scattered and spilled across her shoulders, gleamed darkly, reflecting her aura. She was veiled in crimson clothing, torn in many places. Most importantly, her pale fingers tapped the floor in a pattern, sending mild azure sparks flying in random directions.

Ty Lee's body was made of stone, and she couldn't move herself. Mai told her about finding her, so many times. She said that it will be dangerous. She said that she will hate her. There was no way in which she could have denied it, and she was now sure that Azula will send her away, _kick her out_, and hate her so much. She wet her dry lips, not decided whether speaking up would be worth it or not.

"I know you are standing in the doorway. I know who you are."

_Stupid_, Ty Lee scolded herself,_ of course she would hear you._

Her feet, though rooted into the floor, found enough strength to tremble.

"Azula. I've been searching for you," her voice came our small, nearly unnoticeable. She tried smiling, at least for herself, to no avail. She had time to think about the former princess in the 5 months she spent searching for her. Azula, the cruel, unforgiving, insane former princess. And yet, Ty Lee wanted to come back. She always did - she forgave with ease, it was like second nature to her. She justified Azula's actions to the point where she couldn't see anything wrong with her.

"Hmmm. Of course you were. The pathetic puppet you are. I hope you don't expect me to greet you with open arms." Ty Lee inwardly cringed at the harsh words, but gathered enough courage to step in.

"You don't look very well."

Azula stopped examining the scrolls and turned around to face Ty Lee, "Shut the doors," after she complied, she continued speaking, "No, I don't. I'm not. My current mental state isn't why you came here."

"No," Ty Lee slowly shook her head, "but you really don't." After a moment, she added with haste, "If you want me to, I will leave."

The firebender narrowed her eyes, and simply said, "Spirits."

"What do you mean?"

"You wanted to know why I don't 'look well,'" she rolled her eyes, "Now go, as you said you would."

Ty Lee bit her lip and turned away from Azula. _It went better than expected. At least she didn't kill you_, "As you wish, princess."

Azula ignored the last part of the sentence. _Princess._

* * *

Manik was waiting for her.

"So, you want another room?" he leaned back, waiting for her response. He was extremely sure of himself.

"I'm not paying more. Which room is empty?"

"I said that you won't stay if you don't any more money."

Ty Lee grit her teeth and flipped her body over, so she was standing on the counter. She held out her fists,manoeuvring them and hitting him repeatedly until he slumped. She held Manik by his neck and repeated her statement, "Which room is empty?" Joining the Kyoshi Warriors had certainly boosted her acrobatics.

He stammered for a few seconds, before coughing up, "32."

Satisfied, Ty Lee let him go, jumping down onto the wooden boards. The fireplace still crackled with mirth. Humming to herself, she went to the specified location. If she waited a few days, there might be a chance for approaching Azula again, and with that the possibility of rejoining her. She regretted ever letting her go.

But history can't ever be erased.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Interesting. Now another two characters join the story. _

_This chapter is brought to you by **Mortem Sanctus**_

_Disclaimer: We do not own AtLA._

* * *

"So, they've caught wind of our little scheme, eh?"

"It would seem so…and they've dragged the princess into it as well."

"She is of little consequence. There is nothing they can do to stop us."

"And how is that? She's as good as killed the Avatar once, who's to say she can't do it again? What do we have that could possibly stop that mad woman?"

"An army."

* * *

"Your majesty," the courtier said, kneeling, "Admiral Calo has returned, and wishes an audience with you."

"Send him in at once!" Zuko ordered, his voice anxious, "I need to hear his report as soon as possible."

The man stood, bowed once more, then vanished into the darkness.

The Firelord fidgeted with his robe nervously. A few months earlier, several of his top naval officers had staged a coup, intending to restart the war while the other nations were still recovering. The assassination attempt had failed, however, and they'd taken a fleet of ships and ran. Admiral Calo had led the group assigned with bringing the men to justice, and Zuko was anxious to hear what had happened.

Admiral Calo materialized out of the darkness, bowing low before the throne. He was tall and thin, with dark amber eyes and a look of perpetual boredom on his craggy face. "Your majesty," he stated, his voice flat.

"I take it your mission was successful?" Zuko asked, struggling to keep his royal demeanor, "Have you brought the traitors back?"

"They fled quickly, Firelord," Calo replied, his voice disdainful, "But not quick enough. We caught up to them off Ember Island. The traitors fought to the death, every last one of them, but we suffered relatively low casualties in comparison."

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief, nodding slowly. Though the traitors had failed to kill him, there had been one part of their plan that succeeded. "Where there any signs of Azula during the battle?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Calo shook his head. "Not so much as a wisp of blue flame, your majesty," he replied, frowning, "From what our scouts reported, we don't even think she was with them in the first place."

The traitors had intended to put Azula on the throne, but when their assassin failed, that became an impossibility. _Damn her!_ Zuko thought, before shaking his head.

"I thank you, Admiral," he said, graciously, "Make sure you and your men get some rest. Fighting your comrades couldn't have been easy."

"With all due respect your majesty," Calo replied, his eyes sparking, "Oath breakers are less than men. This job was a true pleasure." With a bow, he turned on his heel and walked off.

Once he was gone, the Firelord let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temples. Running a kingdom was stressful enough without his officers plotting behind his back. Now, he got to add Azula to his already long list of problems.

"You look troubled, my love."

The soft voice broke through his thoughts, and he opened his eyes slowly. "Nothing too terrible, Mai," he replied, smiling wryly, "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Then come to bed," she said wryly, leaning against the wall behind the throne, "I'm sure the Fire Nation can go one night without its Fire Lord."

Zuko's smile widened, and he stood slowly. "I suppose your right," he said, laughing slightly. He turned to follow her out of the room, the flames in front of the throne vanishing the moment he stepped out the door.

* * *

Later that night, Zuko was having trouble sleeping. He jumped from one nightmare to the next, each one more terrifying than the one before. Images of war, famine, and disease flashed through his mind. Through it all, the sound of Azula's disturbed laughing filled his mind, reverberating around until he could no longer stand it.

Sitting up quickly, he looked around, still in fear. The laughter had seemed so real, that his ears were wringing from the sound.

"It was only a dream," he whispered into the darkness while trying to calm his heavy breathing, "Only a dream…"

_"If only that were so, Firelord Zuko."_

The voice startled him, and he looked around wildly for the speaker.

_"Do not be alarmed,"_ it said again, seeming to come from within Zuko's head, _"I wish you nothing but good."_

"Who are you?" Zuko whispered, still looking around the room with wild eyes, "What do you want?"

_"Who I am is not important,"_ the voice replied, calmly, _"And I wish to convey a warning. Those images you saw were not just dreams. They were glimpses into a possible future."_

"What?" Zuko spat, his eyes widening, "You mean…"

_"Your sister is in league with a very old, and very powerful spirit,"_ the voice explained, sounding anxious, _"If she is not eliminated, all that you have seen will come to pass; a world of never ending destruction and war."_

Zuko closed his eyes, clutching his head in his hands. The dreams had felt so real, looked so vivid…

He slowly raised his head, opening his eyes only slightly. His voice was a deadly whisper as he asked, "What must I do?"

* * *

"Right there!" Sokka yelled, waving his arms, "That's perfect!"

The waterbenders he'd been directing sighed in relief. They'd been working on this building for hours, as their chieftain had been incapable of deciding just how he wanted it to look. The final result was a miniscule igloo-like creation, with one side of the dome taller than the other, and a crooked doorway.

"Absolutely marvelous!" Sokka yelled, nodding in approval at the terribly lopsided structure, "Thank you, guys!"

The waterbenders all acknowledged his gratitude, before leaving as soon as possible. They didn't want to be around if he decided to change his mind once more.

"How goes the building?"

Sokka turned, smiling brightly. "It's finished, Suki!" he yelled, pointing back at the house behind him, "I think it looks perfect!"

The Kyoshi warrior smiled, almost as if she was viewing the work of a three year old that had drawn her a picture. "It looks a little small," she stated, slowly, "I might make a few changes, but nothing major."

Sokka looked disappointed, but his mood improved when she kissed him on the cheek. "Everything's almost ready," he said, nodding, "Then we'll finally have a house down here in the South Pole!"

He leaned over to kiss her, but was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a young tribesman. The boy had ridden up on a polar bear-dog, smashing right through the tiny igloo that Sokka had spent so much time creating.

"Why did you do that!?" Sokka yelled, running toward the ruins of his 'house', "It was so beautiful!"

"My apologies, sir," the boy replied, looking surprised, "I didn't even see it."

Sokka glared at him, but Suki stepped in before he could do anything rash. "It can be rebuilt," she said, as much to Sokka as to the rider, "What brings you this far out of the village?"

"A message came via firehawk for Chieftain Sokka," the boy replied, handing a rolled up scroll to the man in question, "It has the royal seal of the Fire Lord on it, so I knew it was urgent."

Sokka unrolled the paper, curious as to why Zuko would be sending him anything.

"What is it?" Suki asked, curiously.

Sokka sighed deeply, turning to face the messenger. "Call the warriors to the market square," he ordered, rolling up the message slowly, "Tell them I need to speak with them."

The boy nodded, and rode off as quick as he could.

"The house is going to have to wait, Suki," Sokka said, walking away quickly, "Zuko needs my help."


End file.
